One Heart at a Time
by GreenAppleIce
Summary: The Cupids lived for this holiday, the Festival of Romantic and Courtly Love, when all of their efforts would finally pay off. Humans called it Valentine's Day.


A/N: Happy Valentine's Day, everyone! After a very long break (I feel so guilty T.T), I bring you...more fluff! (surprise, surprise) And for those of you still waiting on Stolen Kisses, I apologize- I haven't gotten around to finishing it yet, but I hope this will do in the mean time. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis, Weiss Kreuz, or Horitsuba Gakuen.

* * *

Sunlight streamed gently through the clouds, filtered by their white fluffiness, yet brilliant enough to cast an ethereal glow. Everywhere, winged beings flew around and chattered with one another excitedly. Their pleasant murmurs, accompanied by the doves' melodious chirping, reverberated throughout the early morning air. Here and there were Cupids strumming away merrily at their harps while others blew into their pipes.

One could not blame them for their jolly moods. After all, they had worked very hard for an entire year in preparation for this day. It was, for as long as the Cupids could remember, the whole reason they existed in the first place. The elders predicted that the celebration (and therefore the birth of their kind) must've begun sometime, in human terms, during the 14th century. The Cupids lived for this holiday, the Festival of Romantic and Courtly Love, when all of their efforts would finally pay off.

Humans called it Valentine's Day.

Cupid Fuji Syusuke stretched his arms over his head. "Ne, it's a beautiful day, isn't it, Tezuka?" He smiled in the direction of his partner. "It's nice and sunny, unlike that horrible rainstorm ten years ago."

"Hnn." Cupid Tezuka Kunimitsu nodded in agreement. He recalled that day quite vividly for he had spent the week afterwards in bed with a nasty cold. As a matter of fact, the majority of the Cupids, including Fuji, were also bedridden. Fortunately, the weather looked highly promising today and rain was not a part of the daily forecast.

Fuji fluttered his wings in anticipation for the day's events. The fluffy, downy feathers gave off a healthy sheen, the result of a balanced and nutritious diet of ambrosia and nectar, plenty of exercise, and daily grooming. While Tezuka's wings also had a similar vibrant shine to them, there was just something about the delicate nature of Fuji's wings that made them all the more attractive.

Out of the corner of his eyes, Tezuka spotted Fuji tugging up the white fabric wrapped around his arms. The sheer silk material resembled full-length gloves- they started at Fuji's biceps and clung to his slender arms, but ended at his wrists. Fuji had brought them back after going on a shopping trip with Cupid Atobe a few weeks ago. Tezuka had no idea why Fuji was shopping with Atobe in the first place for Fuji had made his disdain for the egotistical Cupid very clear after Atobe accidentally shot Tezuka's left arm during archery practice. That little incident had taken place fifty years ago, and even though it was minor injury that healed quickly, Fuji had never quite forgiven Atobe. Tezuka suspected that Fuji had blackmailed the diva into buying him the accessory set as five hundred years' worth of apologies. Fuji had come home wearing a smug expression while Atobe looked visibly relieved. Tezuka didn't blame him. A grudge-holding Fuji was the last person you wanted to be acquainted with (if you want an example, then look no further than Cupid Mizuki). Tezuka could only imagine what the price for forgiveness must have been, for the set included a diamond-encrusted choker, cross, and a heavy silver coil set with diamonds that Fuji wore around his bicep, not to mention that the gloves were also trimmed with miniature diamonds.

Reaching over, Fuji adjusted the red silken ribbons that were wrapped around Tezuka's waist. "You know, you could've worn that ruby-studded belt we got you for your birthday a few years ago," Fuji commented casually as he tugged the ribbons this way and that. He stopped once they were finally arranged to his satisfaction. Fuji stepped back to admire his handiwork, nodding in approval.

"It's too flashy," Tezuka justified, "and the weight would only slow me down when we fly." Glancing down, Tezuka saw that his once neatly set ribbons were now, in his opinion, in a sorry state of disarray, or 'artistically messy', as Fuji liked to put it. "You didn't have to do that."

His partner shrugged. "It looks better like this." Fuji smiled innocently, and Tezuka knew better than to argue. Fuji craned his neck to peer at the stage in front of which the entire population of Cupids was gathered. "Oh, I think it's starting!"

Sure enough, the Cupid Elders marched onto the stage. Cupid Elder Ryuzaki stepped behind the podium. She tapped the microphone a couple of times, eliciting piercing feedback from the speakers. Everyone clamped their hands over their ears, wincing at the shrill sounds.

"Whoops, sorry about that." She did not look the least bit sorry. Clearing her throat loudly, Ryuzaki spoke into the microphone again. "So, are you all ready?!" she roared. The Cupids cheered deafeningly in reply. "Ahem, so a few announcements before you all leave." Moving back, she allowed for Cupid Elder Sasaki to take her place behind the podium.

Elegant and refined, the Cupids' music teacher addressed the crowd. "As you all know, today is February 14th, so on behalf of the Cupid Elders, I would like to wish Ohtori a happy birthday. May his arrows continue to fly from his soul." Cupid Ohtori Choutarou blushed furiously as the Cupids broke into loud choruses of "Happy Birthday!" and showered him with claps on his shoulder (or his back, in the case of the not as vertically blessed Cupids) His partner, Cupid Shishido Ryou, lead the noisy, disjointed singing with great enthusiasm, his voice soundly beating the others in volume (though his tone left much to be desired).

Cupid Elder Oji shuffled up to the podium. "Don't get lost, and make sure you all come back in time," he wheezed. No one really heard him due to the singing, but since it was pretty much common sense, he still got the message across.

Ryuzaki took back the microphone once the clamor died down. "Remember, you brats: don't wander away from your assigned area, don't waste your arrows, don't get separated from your partner, and above all, don't do anything stupid." She ignored the Cupids' good-naturedly indignant groans and protests. "And so, without further delay, let's FLY!"

_Whoosh_! With a flurry of feathers and shouting, the Cupids spread their wings and took off into the familiar skies, leaving behind their beloved Tennis Village and heading down towards the humans' residence called Earth to do what they do best- spread the love.

* * *

Two shadowy figures lay on their stomachs on the rooftop of a one-story building. Both quietly observed the entrance of the building across from them. They were quite used to this by now after several years of experience.

"Saa, we picked a good spot," the one on the right remarked softly. "No one can spot us, but we can see everything."

"It is," his partner agreed. His hazel eyes never strayed from the door. In this line of business, one could not afford to let one's guard down, not even for a split second.

The first speaker made a soft noise. "Ah, there's our target," he murmured. Below them, the door opened, and a young schoolgirl walked out cradling an enormous bouquet of roses in one arm. She waved to a short boy with light brown hair wearing a baseball cap and apron before striding out. The girl flipped her shoulder-length blue hair back with a confident hand, completely unaware of the imminent danger.

Cracking open a glimmering sapphire eye, the smaller figure carefully aimed his weapon at the blissfully ignorant girl. He heaved an exaggerated sigh. "It's a shame, really. I almost feel sorry for her," he said, shaking his head in mock regret. His fingers tightened their grip on the well-used weapon, making sure that there would be no chance of missing, a completely unnecessary process done merely out of habit. Just a few more feet and she would be at the ideal range.

"You're not supposed to have any feelings," his partner reminded him sternly. "Any excessive emotions or attachment to the target will only interfere with the mission." One step, two step, three step… There! The girl was in the perfect position. "Shoot now," he commanded, his glasses flashing warningly, as though challenging his blue-eyed companion to disobey.

Chuckling, the weapon wielder directed his attention back to their unsuspecting victim. "Goodbye, young human," he purred. He fired. The invisible projectile streaked through the air faster than the speed of light. Undaunted by the light breeze, it flew straight and true, embedding itself deeply in the exact center of the girl's heart. A perfect shot. The poor thing never stood a chance.

Tezuka and Fuji watched as the girl left the flower shop, apparently heading back home. "I wonder where she's going," Fuji mused. He tapped his fingers against his chin thoughtfully. "Either way, it really is too bad. She was so close to being the first one we tipped this year." He sighed ruefully again.

"It doesn't matter whether they're first or not. They'll still be tipped sooner or later," Tezuka stated, completely unsympathetic. He drew an arrow from the quiver slung across his back. "You should've tipped her first," he pointed out reasonably, "and then do that guy later."

"Saying 'I was the very first person tipped on Valentine's Day' sounds so much nicer than saying 'I was only the second person tipped on Valentine's Day'," Fuji countered, his voice as even and mild as ever. "Not that they would know," he added upon seeing Tezuka's raised eyebrows. "Besides," Fuji's eyes flickered to the blonde worker flirting with the female customers he sold flowers to, "he was much closer than she was."

"Hnn."

The tipping that Tezuka and Fuji were talking about referred to Cupids' practice of shooting their love arrows. The term was derived from the obvious fact that the tip of the arrow was the first thing to reach the target's heart. Common sense, really. Over the years, humans managed to hear of this concept, but unfortunately, being the incredibly naïve beings that they were, the silly humans misunderstood and took the literal meaning of the word to be the actual process- physically knocking a person over. That was the true origin of the human phrase "falling head over heels in love."

_Zing. Zing. Zing._ There was a brief moment of silence as Tezuka and Fuji concentrated on the task at hand. Their eyes darted from target to target, expertly loosing arrow after arrow, sparing no one single human anything more than a cursory glance. Instinctive shooting came naturally to all Cupids. After centuries of practice, they were able to perform feats that no human could ever hope to match. Despite their near-perfect grasp of the art of archery though, there were some recently raised concerns regarding their choice of weapon.

"Ne, Tezuka," Fuji called suddenly. "Do you think that we should switch to guns?" He fired off another arrow, striking his brunette target in the heart with surgical precision. Said target continued to chat amiably with his customers.

Tezuka's brows furrowed together. "Guns?" The word rolled off his tongue with blatant distaste. "Cupid Elder Saotome talked about it during the last meeting, didn't he?" He drew back the bow string with his left hand and released it quickly. _Twang._

Nodding his head, Fuji shifted his body slightly to the right to get better aim and tipped an unsuspecting bystander. _Zing._ "He did," Fuji confirmed, "and I must admit, he brought up a good point."

Hazel eyes narrowed. "Really?" Tezuka's voice radiated disapproval.

Fuji nodded. "Yes, I believe so." He gestured towards the golden-plated bow and arrow in his hands. "Bows and arrows are a bit…primitive, ne? We came up with guns and rifles long before the humans ever did, so why shouldn't we use them?"

Tezuka involuntarily wrapped his fingers more tightly around his bow, as though subconsciously fearing that Fuji might spontaneously decide to wrench his precious Mizuno (Pro Light S90) out of his hands and toss it over the edge of the building into the crowded street below, where it would be crushed into smithereens by the nature-killing chunks of metal called cars that humans were so fond of. "Bows and arrows are traditional. There's no need to change to something else," he stated.

"But guns are so much more efficient." Fuji nocked an arrow; the golden-dyed feathers tickled his fingertips. "They're convenient to carry around, and they're just as good as bows and arrows." Fuji loosed the arrow. "Guns will make this go so much faster, not to mention easier. We're in the 'modern' times now, so we might as well 'modernize' ourselves, ne? Or maybe we can upgrade to crossbows instead."

"Guns and crossbows will encourage violence," Tezuka said firmly. He shot an arrow at the old woman sitting in a rocking chair near the back of the flower shop. And for good measure, he tipped the cat in her lap as well. _Zing. Zing._ "Violence is not the answer." He fired another arrow.

"But it is an answer," Fuji quipped, chuckling. "Saa, I guess you're right," he conceded eventually. "We wouldn't want the humans to think that we are terrorists or something. It'd probably ruin our image as well. Imagine that- Cupids flying around and toting machine guns. Not exactly romantic, is it?" Fuji took careful aim and discretely shot an arrow into the heart of a red-headed male wearing a bright orange turtleneck. "Of course," he added, "I'm only agreeing since you look so sexy with your bow." Fuji smiled angelically.

"Hnn." Tezuka's noncommittal grunt and unfazed expression would've been far more convincing had he hit his target instead of the flower pot three feet away.

* * *

Stretching his arms over his head, Fuji heaved a satisfied sigh as he arched his back, his spine letting out several gratifying cracks. Beside him, Tezuka rolled his head and shoulders, working out the kinks in his neck. This was the fifth section of their allocated area, and the largest one by far. Fuji wondered briefly what he and Tezuka had done to be assigned responsibility over such a huge shopping district. He was sure he'd covered up his tracks in Operation Dye Mituli's Clothes a Different Color. (Fuji believed that he did Miyuki a favor- though equally blinding, neon pink was a much more Cupid-ish color than purple).

No matter the reason, they'd finished tipping every human within shooting distance and were finally taking a well deserved break. Fuji leaned back on his hands, tilting his head upwards to admire the brilliant azure sky above, marveling at the fluffy white clouds that leisurely drifted across the blue vastness without a care in the world. He scooted closer to Tezuka so that their arms brushed against each other, and upon hearing the stoic Cupid make a content noise in the back of his throat, took Tezuka's hand and entwined their fingers together. They sat together like that for quite some time, enjoying the blissful and comfortable silence between them while relishing the gentle warmth of sunlight upon their faces.

Fuji's stomach growled.

Chuckling, Fuji straightened up and removed his hand. "I think it's time for lunch," he said, making his way onto his feet. Just as he was about to leave, Tezuka, standing up himself, caught Fuji's wrist and gently tugged him back. Fuji cast Tezuka a questioning glance, accompanied by a slight cock of his head.

"I'll go," Tezuka offered as he released Fuji's wrist.

A smile crept its way onto Fuji's lips. "Is this some new endeavor to bring chivalry back to life?" he asked jokingly. "Because if so, I don't think Yagyuu would be too happy with you trying to upstage him."

The corners of Tezuka's mouth twitched upward by a few millimeters, something that didn't escape from Fuji's ever watchful gaze. "No, Yagyuu can keep his job." Tezuka closed his eyes in concentration, and within seconds, human clothes materialized upon his body. Tezuka reached into the pocket of his slim, dark jeans and pulled out a wallet attached to his belt loop by a long silver chain. "The Cupid Elders gave us some human currency," Tezuka explained as he opened up the wallet to examine its contents.

"How generous of them," remarked Fuji. "So long to the days where we had to use what little money we had." He watched Tezuka thumb through the thick wad of yen banknotes folded neatly inside the wallet. "Well, it's nice to know that they don't want us to starve."

Tezuka tucked the wallet back into his pocket. "More like they can't afford another Hamburger Incident," he corrected.

"Ah, I see."

The Hamburger Incident in question took place the previous year, and what a disaster it was. Cupids Momoshiro Takeshi and Echizen Ryoma had happened upon the ingenious culinary masterpiece known as a hamburger and fell in love with it at first taste. While masquerading as humans, the two Cupids had proceeded to have an eating contest at one of Japan's many hamburger joints, and several Cupids on their lunch breaks had joined in as well. The problem was that they kind of flew out on the monstrous bill once they'd finished eating (a feat which took quite a few hours). Needless to say, the Cupid Elders were not the least bit pleased at having to cover up the mess.

"Is there anything you want?" questioned Tezuka, adjusting the black sweatband that was wrapped snugly around his wrist.

Fuji pursed his lips as though in deep thought before running his eyes up and down Tezuka's body admiringly. "You," purred Fuji throatily, voice rich with seduction as he batted his eyelashes playfully. Tezuka gave him a look, and Fuji laughed. He reached out to fix Tezuka's light purple shirt- creasing the collar, unbuttoning the top few buttons, and rolling up the cuffs. "Surprise me," Fuji amended.

Nodding, Tezuka left the rooftop by means of the stairs. He could've easily and swiftly descended to ground level by flying off from the roof (when Cupids take on human clothing, their wings remain although they're invisible), but there would be no way to explain it if some human happened to witness his seemingly suicidal feat.

Once inside the store, Tezuka quickly grabbed a couple of bento and some bottles of tea. If there was one good thing to be said about humans, it was that they knew how to make things convenient. After some consideration, Tezuka added a few bars of chocolate to his purchases, just in case Fuji's sweet tooth decided to act up.

Tezuka meant to get out of the store as fast as he could and keep his interactions with the humans to a minimum, but he had forgotten to take the lengthy checkout lines that came in tandem with the holidays into consideration, so Tezuka had no choice but to wait along with the other jittery customers. Tezuka ran an impatient hand through his hair, completely oblivious to the devastating effect it had on the hordes of swooning females nearby.

"Like hell I'm gonna buy that for you!"

The possessor of the angry voice, muscular arms crossed over his broad chest, was standing directly in front of Tezuka. The man's blond-haired companion pouted.

"But Kuro-wan," the blond man whined, ignoring the homicidal vibes directed his way, "I'm getting this for you," he brandished a stuffed puppy holding a chocolate heart, "so you have to get this for me," he waved around a plush kitten with a similar chocolate heart in its grasp. "They come in a set. And they're so cute!"

"Cute?!" spluttered the first man, ruby red eyes wide with incredulity. "I don't care if it's cute! I'm not buying it!"

"You have to!" The blond man more or less shoved the stuffed kitten into Kuro-wan's face. "It's Valentine's Day, Kuro-puu!"

Kuro-puu (Tezuka wondered just how many nicknames there were in total) swatted irritably at the toy attempting to suffocate him. "Like I told the kid," he growled loudly, "It's a conspiracy by the candy makers!" This statement elicited scandalized gasps from the customers and employees. (Tezuka cried silently on the inside at the partially true words. Despite the Cupids' best efforts, the humans had still managed to, for the most part, reduce the Festival of Romantic and Courtly Love into a government ploy for making money). A sharp "What the hell are you looking at?!" from Kuro-puu sent the gawking bystanders scattering.

The blond man waggled his finger in his seething companion's face, adopting an exaggeratedly exasperated expression. "Bad doggy," he scolded patronizingly. "Don't be such a cranky Kuro-chi." He abruptly turned to face Tezuka. "Isn't he such a grumpy Kuro-puppy?" he asked conversationally, like one might inquire about the weather. Tezuka deemed it wise to keep his mouth shut and practice his infamous stoicism lest he get attacked.

"Stop calling me that!" barked a fuming Kuro-pyon (To his horror, Tezuka found himself involuntary contributing to the pool of nicknames).

"Okay, Kuro-chin!" trilled the blond man, undaunted by the ominous thunderstorm growing above Kuro-pon's spiky hair. "Now buy this stuffed kitty for me!"

"No! And that's final!"

Crocodile tears welled up in wide sapphire eyes and pink lips trembled before their owner buried his face in his hands and burst into huge, theatrical, heaving sobs. "Kuro-myuu doesn't care about meeeee!" he wailed for the entire world to hear.

"Huh? What the- Oi! Quit your fake crying act already!" The customers in line murmured in sympathy for the 'poor dear who has to put up being with such an insensitive brute' despite Kuro-tan's murderous glares. "Fine," the ruby-eyed man grumbled, clearly fed up with the unwanted attention. He snatched up the plush kitten. "I'll buy the stupid toy for you if you just shut up."

Immediately, the tears were replaced by a megawatt smile. "Hyuu!" cheered the blond man, throwing his arms around Kuro-wanta's neck and planting a sloppy kiss on the latter's cheek. "KURO-RIN LOVES ME!" he gleefully announced to the whole store amid great applause.

"Oi! What the hell are you telling everyone?!"

Tezuka had never been gladder to escape from the store and make his way back to Fuji. Humans were such tiring creatures to be around. Tezuka thanked whatever deity existed that Fuji fortunately did not insist upon such public displays of affection and was relatively normal.

"What took you so long, Tezuka?" greeted Fuji with an innocent smile. "You didn't get raped by those troublesome humans, did you?"

So perhaps normal wasn't the most accurate description, Tezuka thought as he handed over the bento, but Fuji was Fuji, and Tezuka wouldn't have preferred it any other way.

* * *

"How much time do we have left?" asked Tezuka. He shrugged off his bow and empty quiver and carefully laid them down beside him, making sure that they were placed far away enough from the edge. After an entire day of flying around and shooting love arrows one after another, Tezuka really wasn't in the mood for performing spectacular feats of sky diving to catch his precious belongings if they fell.

"We won't have to be back for another hour," Fuji informed Tezuka, settling down next to the taller Cupid. He swung his legs idly as he peered down, down, down. It was a curious thing to be so high up. Sure their home was even higher, but from there, the cities were only mere dots. It just wasn't the same as being able to see all the buildings. Even though said buildings were ruining the earth, Fuji had to admit that some were quite impressive displays of architecture. "Good thing we finished early, ne? It's been so long since we last did this."

"Ah," agreed Tezuka. His sharp eyes were affixed upon the horizon, watching as the sun sank lower and lower with each passing second, tingeing the sky with warm orange tendrils of light.

The two Cupids had been pleasantly surprised to find out that they'd finished covering their assigned area way ahead of schedule, and so had immediately jumped at the opportunity to visit one of Japan's most famous tourist attraction and the world's tallest self-supporting steel tower- the Tokyo Tower. As they had done so many times before, Tezuka and Fuji had forgone adopting a human appearance and entering the tower with the other humans in favor of simply sitting atop the Special Observatory. It was much cheaper, for one, and they were able to have their privacy, for another.

"You know," Fuji spoke up casually, "Atobe and Oshitari tried to persuade the Cupid Elders into letting them participate in the karaoke contest again." He leaned forward, hands clasped together, to rest his elbows on his knees.

Tezuka raised an eyebrow at the unexpected news. "Winning twice wasn't enough for them?" he questioned, a slight sarcastic tone lacing his voice. Even as the words left his lips, Tezuka already knew the answer.

Fuji laughed merrily. "Of course not, this is Atobe we're talking about," he reminded Tezuka, an amused smile playing on his lips. "He wants to win all of the contests. As for Oshitari, I think he was just tired of having to sit out every year."

"I was under the impression that Atobe just wanted to show off his voice," Tezuka remarked dryly. In his imagination, he could vividly picture Atobe with his hand in the air, snapping his fingers, and then confidently proclaiming 'Be awed by Ore-sama's amazing singing abilities!'

"That too," said Fuji. "But in fairness, he has a great voice. If the Elders hadn't banned him, and fortunately they did, I think he really would've won every time." A slight wind ruffled Fuji's honey brown locks, but the Cupid didn't notice, eyes focused upon the setting sun. "I'd be more jealous of Atobe if he wasn't so arrogant."

"Don't be. You already have a good singing voice," offered Tezuka in one of his rare instances of praising others. He reached out and gently combed his fingers through Fuji's hair, untangling the silky strands and smoothing them down. Fuji hummed in pleasure at the light touches against his scalp.

"Thanks. You do too." Fuji rested his chin upon one hand and regarded Tezuka curiously. "How come you never participate in the contests? You're almost as good as Atobe. You could easily beat the others."

Tezuka stroked Fuji's hair a few more times and then dropped his hand back onto his lap. "I don't really care about competing," he explained seriously, looking straight at Fuji. "I just like singing with you more." Tezuka was pleased to see that his words brought a faint blush to Fuji's cheeks.

"We haven't done that in a while either," Fuji noted softly, his cheeks still holding a hint of pink. He graced Tezuka with a smile that was slightly brighter than his usual ones. "Shall we have a go tonight at home after the karaoke contest?"

"After the karaoke contest," promised Tezuka. The two of them once again lapsed into a comfortable silence as they gazed into the distance. By now, the sun was a mere sliver of radiance still clinging onto the horizon, determined to shine for as long as it possibly could before it had to yield to the moon. It was only a matter of time before the stars made their presence known.

"Who do you think will win this year?" Fuji inquired after a while.

Running the list of possible contestants through his head, Tezuka took his time in evaluating each one before replying. "Hiyoshi," he eventually stated.

Fuji tapped a finger against his chin as he considered the possibility of Cupid Hiyoshi taking the prize. "You think he'll finally gekokujou everyone this time?"

"He has a good chance," Tezuka reasoned. "He's been practicing really hard this year." Tezuka decided not to mention how he'd spotted Hiyoshi a few weeks ago belting his heart out into a hairbrush. It wasn't his fault that the younger Cupid had forgotten to close the curtains of his living room window, now was it?

"That's true; practice does help a lot," said Fuji. "That's what Shiraishi did last year. He told me afterwards that he'd been practicing for a whole month before the contest." It had come as a big surprise to everyone when Cupid Shiraishi easily blew away the competition. Nobody had stood a chance.

"Who do you have in mind?" Tezuka asked, keeping one eye on the sun. It was almost completely engulfed by the horizon, and if he squinted hard enough, he could spot the first few stars peeking out from behind the clouds.

"Niou," Fuji answered promptly, scanning the skies for the familiar twinkles of light along with Tezuka.

Tezuka blinked in surprise at Fuji's speedy and sure response. "Niou?"

Fuji nodded absently. "I heard him practicing once. He's quite good, and Sanada's been giving him a lot of tips. Fuji decided not to mention how he'd walked in upon one of Cupid Niou's practices and found former champion Cupid Sanada demonstrating, very loudly and off-key, the proper way to sing (it sounded more like shouting) the word 'kiss.' It wasn't his fault that Niou hadn't closed his door all the way, now was it?

"As long as he only brings two people to sing backup, he should be fine. The Elders are serious this time," Tezuka informed Fuji. A few years ago, Cupid Kai had brought all of his friends with him to sing the background vocals. Granted, he had won, but the karaoke stage was only meant to hold a maximum of five Cupids and had collapsed the second Kai and his friends were done singing (fortunately, no one was hurt).

"We can't have that happening again," chuckled Fuji. "I wonder how Oishi and Shishido will do this year. They're always taking the runner-up posi—Oh!" Fuji suddenly grabbed Tezuka's hand.

There was no need for Tezuka to ask what the matter was. The sun had finally disappeared, plunging the city into a state of darkness. Amid the inky blackness, one brave light flickered on, followed by another, and another, and another until all of Tokyo was lit up with colorful twinkling orbs that glowed brightly in contrast with its dark surroundings.

"It's beautiful," breathed out Fuji, resting his head upon Tezuka's shoulder. Cupids didn't get cold very easily (a result of flying in the skies for so many centuries), but the body heat that they shared when in close contact was still comforting.

"Yeah," Tezuka agreed quietly as he laid his own head against Fuji's. He laced their fingers together and gave Fuji's hand a gentle squeeze. "Yeah, it is."

There might not be much to say in favor of the human world, but for the two Cupids sitting hand in hand on top of the Tokyo Tower, the gorgeous nighttime view of the city lights was good enough to share a special moment, and that was what truly mattered.

xXxOwarixXx

* * *

A/N: So there you have it. Review please!


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